It’s been almost one week since our first arrival at the Edouard’s castle.

My father has not yet visited me. According to Lord Emilien, he is quite busy lately and is trying to figure out the best time to visit without raising suspicion.

I'm not sure, but I get the impression he's procrastinating on the matter, and I don’t blame him if that's really the case. A part of me wants to see him, but another part of me is relieved every time Lord Emilien says he won't come yet.

There were no major changes, save that I befriended Mael, though not to the point where he would label me a close buddy.

He's not particularly chatty, but at least we're conversing. The only time he actively participates in a discussion is when we talk about books.

I tried to ask him a personal questions to get to know him better, like questions about his childhood, what he enjoys, or things like that.

These types of questions were quite difficult for me to ask because if he asked me anything about myself that I couldn’t reveal, I'd have to lie or tell him half-truths.

But, thank God, he never asked me any questions about anything that would require me to lie.

He told me about his childhood and where his passion for books came from.

Mael's parents, being devout and workaholic doctors, spent little time in the Duchy and even less time in the castle. They are spending most of their time overseas conducting research works. They only return to the duchy once a year to celebrate Mael’s birthday.

Due to his parents' absence, Mael's entire education was left to his uncle, Lord Emilien's second son, Lord Damien.

Lord Damian, it appears, has never pretended to the family head position and has been a member of the Paladin Order since his eighteenth.

He took an extraordinarily long break from his duties in the Paladin Order and returned to the duchy solely to care for Mael in the absence of his parents.

His uncle raised him until he was five years old, and it was only then that he returned to the Paladin Order. It was after his uncle's departure that Mael developed a strong interest in reading, at first it was just in order to read stories and other things written in his uncle's letter, but after it has mutated into an authentic passion for reading.

I was tempted to ask him how he feels about his parents only visiting him once a year when he told me that, but I restrained myself.

Perhaps my question was written all over my face because he immediately told me that he didn't resent them for that, that despite not being the best parents anyone could hope for, they were doing their best, and that he was grateful to them for that.

When he told me that I couldn’t restrain myself, I hugged him with teary eyes.

He was displaying more maturity than I ever did.

Lately, I've been questioning whether or not I was truly an adult in my previous life, because lately, I feel like I've completely lost the almighty advantage I had over anyone my age, it's like having a head start in a marathon, only to be exhausted midway and overtaken by others later in the run.

I am here where I am now, thanks to my early grinding. I’d better keep up with my effort to not be left behind by Mael.

“Do your best Ronandt,” I said while slapping lightly both of my cheeks.

“Is there anything that I could be of help?” said a feminine voice from behind me.

The voice belonged to a young Maid who had been appointed by Syrus to serve me during his absence.

He told me two days ago that there was something he needed to do in town and that it might take two or three days off.

It was a very unusual request from him but I let him go, but before he went to his errand, he had assigned a maid to be there for me.

“No, it’s nothing.Is Lord Emilien gone?”

“Yes, the Lord left right after Lord Mael.”

Yesterday, Mael gave me a double of the library key. He told me that there was a book he wanted to purchase in town today.

Since I wasn’t allowed to leave the castle I couldn't follow him on his errand,

Now that I think about it, this is the first time I've ever seen him leave the castle.I expected him to leave the house only out of absolute or primordial necessity.

In a way, perhaps a new book to buy could be categorized as primordial for him.

“I guess I'll spend my day there,” I said while heading to the library.

***

Grandpa told me two weeks ago that our castle would receive a guest in the following week. He informed me that this visitor would be someone my age, with a similar hobby to mine. Back then I was quite skeptical of his statement because, as far as I recall, from everyone my age I’ve met so far none of them has shown a real interest in what I like : Writing stories and reading books.

They are more interested in playing or doing other things than burying themselves inside a library and they are right for doing so.

People are free to like what they like, and so am I.

At a certain point, I gave up on the idea of finding a friend who shares the same passion as me.

It doesn’t mean that I have no friends at all, I do have friends, to be precise I have a friend that happens to be my cousin.

If there's one person I'm closest to after grandfather, it would be her.

She didn't have any real interest in reading or anything regarding books but she would be extremely motivated when it came to hearing stories.

Annals of Crusaders being her favorite book, a book that she never read a word of, I was quite surprised to hear Ronandt asking for that book when coming to the library.

When Grandpa introduced me to Ronandt, I was a little disappointed because he didn't quite match my expectations.

I'm not sure how to put it. He gives me a sensation of déjà vu while also exuding a mystery vibe. His eyes are the most distracting feature of him. I've seen a lot of people with identical eyes. The Aubrecht are known for their red eyes, but I've heard that red eyes are a very unique feature of those born among the Altaira kingdom's Ducal family and Royal family. I was intrigued as to who he could be after he failed to provide his father's name when introducing himself. At first, I assumed he did so out of condescension, but Grandpa later explained that Ronandt had his own reason for concealing his name. I was even more convinced of that when he was trying to actively engage in a discussion with me.

That’s a bit cheap coming from someone like me but he still has some work to do with his social skills.

He returned to charge the next morning with a new strategy. He wanted to accompany me to the library. At first, I thought he was just there to befriend me, but it turns out he was genuinely interested in books.

I recall having a visitor one day, a boy from the Laurance Family who wanted to follow me to the library. It didn't take him long to become bored and dirty the library with his slothful energy.

Normally, the presence of other people around me while reading irritates me; even if they remain silent, some of them still manage to create an irritating silence.

But nothing of that sort happened when Ronandt accompanied me to the library.

He is usually very chatty, but he seems to do so only after we've finished our business in the library, and I really appreciate that.

I'm not sure how he views me, but even though we've only known one other for a week and three days, he's already become one of my closest friends.

And this is for that newly acquired close friend that I am now riding this carriage with someone I’ve only met since last week.

“Rufus, what kind of presents do you think Ronandt would appreciate? Even if Grandpa stated that it is the intent that counts, this does not imply that anything will suffice.” I asked the black-masked man sitting on the seat in front of me.

Grandpa told me two days ago that Ronandt's birthday was coming up in two days. When I asked Grandpa for advice because I had no clue what present to give , he instructed me to look for it myself with the help of the person best placed to know what would please Ronandt.

Rufus, Ronandt’s Butler,

Given the mask, he was wearing and his stature, it was difficult to guess his age, but the white hair that appeared here and there on his brawn chevelure indicated that he was at least fifty.

These two appear to have a simple butler-master relationship, but I frequently overhear them casually conversing with each other as if they were close friends. There was a certain kind of complicity between them, one you only acquire after years of acquaintance.

“I'm tempted to say that Lord Emilien is entirely correct in his assessment. However, because it isn't an answer to Sir Mael's inquiry, the only thing that comes to mind is books. Maa has been offering the Young Lord books alongside other gifts for years, but he has always preferred the books.”

Ronandt was strangely curious about where my passion for books came from and I told him all I could tell, and as if feeling the need to reciprocate the fact that I told me where my past and where my love for reading came from, he started talking about his childhood among the two names he most often mentioned were Rufus his butler and Maa his governess.

Just like when he was talking to Rufus, it was clear from the way he described his interaction with "Maa" that she was more than just his governess, but more like a relative or even a mother figure.

“I see... a book then...”

“If that doesn't appeal to Sir Mael, how about purchasing something related to books without being one.”

Something related to books without being one?

Like a pen? or a notebook?

Suddenly something came to my mind.

I knew exactly what might please him.

“Thanks, Rufus, I’ve gotten an idea of what might please him,” I said.

“Glad to be of help,” Rufus said with a voice that despite the mask carried a smile.